“Yes. Just… wedding nerves.”
“Who is Aaron?” I asked.
His expression changed only for a second.
“No one important,” he said quickly.
That was a lie.
I knew lies.
I had lived with one for 20 years.
The ceremony began before I could press him further.
Caleb walked down the aisle with his best friend. He looked at me and smiled, and for a moment, I made myself forget everything else.
If he was happy, then I was happy too.
That was what I kept telling myself.
The vows were beautiful.
Caleb cried through half of his.
Julian’s voice shook when he promised to love Caleb “without hiding, without fear, and without running from the hard parts.”
That line should have comforted me.
Instead, it made my stomach twist.
After the ceremony, while guests moved toward the reception room, I slipped inside the inn to fix my makeup. I accidentally walked into the restroom and heard a voice coming from one of the stalls.
It was Julian.
He was talking to someone on the phone.
“I told you not to call me here,” he whispered.
I froze near the sinks.
Then he said, “Aaron, please. This is his wedding day.”
My hands went cold.
Suddenly, his phone must have switched to speaker, because another man’s voice came through clearly.
It was him.
